But one of the Africans fled shortly after landing at Heathrow.
Another three disappeared from the team hotel before they were due to catch a flight to Edinburgh yesterday. Two were spotted sneaking out of the foyer by one of the team's managers - but an attempt to stop them failed.
Ethiopian team co-ordinator Dagmawit Amare said: "I am so sorry this has happened.
"This is very embarrassing for our country and for our athletics team. We are not worried about the safety of the athletes who disappeared because it appears obvious they are seeking asylum.
"My colleague actually tried to restrain two of them but they ran off. This is such a sad thing to happen for my country and the sport." The Ethiopian embassy in London is liaising with the Home Office over the missing athletes and their expected claims for asylum.
The athletes are said to be women's 200metres runner Betelhem Shewatatek, women's 400metre hurdler Feleke Bekele, men's 400metre runner Hagos Tadesse and Tirehas Haileselassie, who is also a 400metre hurdler.
They were due to compete in the Falkirk Cup against teams from Scotland, England, Ireland and the Bank of Scotland.
The meeting's manager Ross Cunningham said: "It blows a hole in the Ethiopian team's prospects and it represents our worst scenario in inviting them."
Ethiopian distance running legend Haile Gebrselassie earlier promoted the meeting, saying: "I hope everyone competing abroad for Ethiopia does so with pride, determination and enjoyment."
By Stephen Moyes 26/08/2009
Mirror.co.uk
A fourth member of an Ethiopian exchange programme has gone missing from Hartlepool.
Police have launched a missing persons inquiry following the disappearance of Konjit Assefa, 22, who was last seen in the town centre on Tuesday.
Three other members of the nine-strong group, all men in their 20s, vanished while visiting London, though one later made contact and has since left the UK.
Organisers Global Xchange said the incidents were damaging to its work.
The programme is designed to give young people from different countries an opportunity to work on community development projects and promote cross cultural understanding.
A team of 18 young people, nine from Hartlepool and nine from Ethiopia, have been working together for three months in each country.
Phil Hudson, head of Global Xchange, said: "Our primary concern is for the safety of Konjit and we are helping the police with their inquiries.
Others 'distressed'
"However, we take very seriously any actions that damage the reputation of the programme, which over the past 10 years has had a significant impact on community development and enhanced the skills and perspectives of thousands of young people."
The organisation will review its security procedures, and give "serious consideration" to which countries it works with in the future, he added.
The remainder of the Ethiopian group are due to fly home on Monday, and are said to be distressed and disappointed.
Those still missing are not yet being treated as illegal immigrants, as they still have visas until mid-September.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Ms Assefa should contact Cleveland Police.
BBC
Three Ethiopian Exchange Students 'Vanish'
Three African exchange students have vanished during a trip to the Houses of Parliament.
The three Ethiopian men were among a group of nine visitors who were staying with families in Hartlepool as part of a three-month visit to the UK.
But at the end of a day's tour in the Houses of Commons and Lords, the trio failed to turn up and organisers Global Xchange were forced to report them missing.
Missing: Muluneh Tilahun Abera (left) and Habtamu Debela have not been seen since they went to buy calling cards after visiting the Houses of Parliament
Police and Home Office chiefs are now investigating their disappearance. Organisers say their main concern is for the safety of the men, who have been named as Zerihun Weldeyohans, 24, Habtamu Debela, 27, and 21-year-old Muluneh Tilahun Abera.
They had left the rest of the group to buy telephone calling cards at around 6pm, but did not rejoin their group or return to their London hotel.
Concerns grew when they failed to turn up for the 11am journey to Hartlepool the following morning.
All have valid visas which run until September 9. The Global Xchange programme involves 18 volunteers, nine from the UK and nine from Ethiopia, living in Hartlepool while working for community organisations.
Zerihun is based at Cafe 177 and Headline Futures, Habtamu at the West View Project, while Muluneh has been working at Hartlepool United's study support centre.
A statement released by the organisers said the men went missing on July 15.
It read: 'All three are male and aged between 21 and 24. The group had been on a trip to London to visit the Houses of Parliament.
Daily Mail
Ethiopia’s most popular singer, Teddy Afro, was freed early from prison on Thursday after serving 18 months of a two-year sentence for hit-and-run manslaughter.
The performer, whose real name is Tewodros Kassahun, was found guilty of killing an 18-year-old homeless man while driving his BMW in the capital Addis Ababa in 2007.
Lawyers said he was freed early because of good behavior.
“I would like to express my respect and gratitude to all the people of our country,” Afro told state TV after his release.
“I was able to meet many good people in prison, from the lowest-ranking policemen to the highest administrator. I had a nice time. My relations with other prisoners were also good.”
Afro, who is well known for criticizing the government in his fiery lyrics, is hugely popular among young Ethiopians and sings mostly in the local Amharic language.
Hundreds protested outside the court during his trial — an unusual event in a nation where dissent is rare.
His sentence had been cut from six years in February after his lawyer argued that the victim had been drunk and was lying unconscious on the road when he was hit by the singer’s car.
Afro has always denied being in the vehicle.
Reuters
After three long months of power cuts every other day, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is to ease the schedule after recent good inflows of rain into hydro power reservoirs around the country.
The corporation plans to decrease the number of days of power cuts to five every fortnight in the next few weeks, although it was not yet able to give an exact date for the change.
Earlier this year, EEPCo admitted that there was a major power shortage across the nation, after being quiet about it for over a month. After the initial announcement of the rationing, cities faced a power cut of 14 hours one week and another 28 hours the other week. After a few weeks of this schedule, the corporation was forced to move to cutting power every other day.
The loss of power has harmed the economy severely and it is estimated that it will have shaved an estimated 1.2 per cent off the gross domestic product of the recently ended fiscal year.
Last year’s power interruption also caused a considerable amount of damage to the economy, estimated at over a billion birr, after the country faced a high electricity demand that resulted in some 3,000 towns all over the nation experiencing a minimum of six hours of power cuts each day.
The corporation faces a power shortfall of over 60 per cent in the capital city, Addis Ababa. Out of the total of 220 megawatts of electric power needed, the corporation was 130mw short. According to EEPCo officials, the electricity demand grows by 14 per cent every year, but in this current fiscal year consumption of electric power increased by 24 per cent compared to last year.
Because of that power shortage, EEPCo has been forced to spend close to 100 million birr on fuel for generators to supplement power each month.
The ever increasing demand, primarily due to large numbers of new companies, accompanied by low levels of rain during the main rainy season, have been the main causes of the problem.
EEPCo’s officials previously revealed that by 2008, the construction of the Tekezze Hydro Power Station with a capacity of 300mw, Gilgel Gibe II with a capacity of 420mw and Beles Hydro Power Station with a capacity of 435mw would be completed, with neighboring Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan being the most likely markets for any excess electricity generated. It estimates it could earn tens of millions of dollars a year from exports.
A feasibility study is being carried out to connect Kenya to Ethiopia, which has a production capacity of 1,875 megawatts. Other activities are also underway to connect Ethiopia with Sudan and Djibouti and this is expected to be finalised next year.
World Bank data shows that the Democratic Republic of Congo has a 40 gigawatts hydro resource potential on the Congo River that is yet to be harnessed, while Ethiopia is second on the continent with a 35gw potential.
By Groum Abate
Capital Ethiopia
Addis Ababa — Aba Gebremedhin (formerly known as Aba Paulos), the patriarch of Ethiopia's Orthodox Tewahdo Church, has been stripped of most of his administrative duties by the Synod, the Church's executive body, according to the Addis Ababa-based newspaper Awramba Times.
The Synod decided to take such measures against Aba Gebremedhin in an emergency meeting after he arbitrarily suspended Addis Ababa bishop Abune Samuel.
Awramba Times
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Ethiopian is pleased to announce that it has been named the ‘Airline of the Year 2009’ at the African Business Awards organized by the London-based African Business and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC). The award was presented to Ethiopian Airlines at the African Business Awards ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Ballroom, in London on July 06, 2009. According to the 2009 judging panels of the African Business Awards, the winners of the Airline of the Year 2009 were chosen from a pool of nominees based on “solid financial results coupled with distinctive customer service, punctuality and innovative products and services for consumers, especially in opening new routes.”
After receiving the award, Mr. Yeneneh Tekelyes, Director for Advertising and Promotions of Ethiopian Airlines said, “While we rejoice for winning the award, the recognition of our overall excellence among other African Airlines motivates and encourages us to provide and deliver even more products and better services.” The award organizer, IC Publications has over 40 years’ experience in publishing magazines, newsletters, country supplements, industry reports and market intelligence on Africa and the Middle East.
Present at this festive and memorable African night were prominent government leaders including H.E Mr. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda and several other ministers from different African countries.
About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. With the recent service additions to Riyadh and Malabo, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 34 cities in Africa and to a total of 55 destinations world wide.
In August 2008, Ethiopian won the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award of Aviation & Allied Business for setting the pace towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry.
Ethiopian is also the first African carrier to win the 2008 Brussels Airport Company Award in recognition of its distinguished long haul operations witnessed through the introduction of new routes, new products, and close cooperation with Brussels Airport in marketing activities.
Ethiopian was the winner of the 2008 Best Airline in Africa Award at the African Travel Award in Lagos, Nigeria, for its excellent network and convenient connections in Africa.
The Government has approved a new national exam students will have to take to join university, Capital learnt.
According to sources, the Ministry of Education (MoE) will shortly announce the changes made in the exam that preparatory program grade 12 students take at the end of the year.
Replacing the old curriculum’s Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (E.S.L.C.E), it was back in 2001 that the first batch of the new education policy students took the new Ethiopian General Secondary Education Certificate exam at grade ten.
The Education Ministry uses the students score to divide them in to two groups: one gets sent to various vocational programs, while the second group goes on a two years preparatory program in order to go to university.
Students who successfully complete the two year preparatory program will take the final national exam – the Ethiopian Higher Education Entrance Certificate Examination. Their score in this test determines what studies they will take, if any. It is this exam, first launched in 2003, the Education Ministry has decided to change next academic year.
Grade 12 students, including this year’s, took a national exam that contains five subjects, while the newly approved exam has seven.
The new exam to be announced will keep English, math, civics and aptitude subjects, but eliminate general science and social science for natural and social science students, respectively.
Each subject, a total of five, is marked out of 100, but now the eliminated two subjects from each side will each be divided into three, taking the overall grade point to 700.
All students will sit seven exams, with physics, biology and chemistry added for natural science students, while geography, history and economics are added for social science students.
“Basically for social science students, the social science subject, which now comprises three subjects, will be divided in to three separate exams, and the same for natural science students who used to take general science exam, they will sit physics, biology and chemistry exams starting from next academic year,” a source explained to Capital.
“Most students go for a degree program that would focus on one of the subjects now compressed in just one exam, therefore encouraging them to devote a little time to general and social science exams since the two only count for 100 out of 500 total grading, while other subjects like English and civics have 100 points each,” the source added, explaining why the change was necessary.
“The first entrance exam excluded civics’ exam and it was graded out of 400. In the following year, civics was included and the exam numbered five subjects so it is always necessary to keep improving exams to better assess students,” the source also said.
The new entrance exam to be announced looks more like a Grade 10 exam where students sit for nine exams and graded by seven best, but making math and English compulsory.
The entrance exam change is part of a broader reform agenda the Education Ministry is planning.
It wants most of the preparatory students to focus on natural studies so that at completion at least 70 per cent of them join natural science programs.
Official data shows that this year’s freshmen in natural science fields studying in 22 state-run universities are only 51 per cent from the total enrolment.
“Next academic year enrolment will take the share to 60 per cent and 2011 should be the desired 70 percentage share,” one expert outlined the targets.
The break down of the seventy percentage share is forty per cent for computing and engineering fields, while 20 per cent enrollment goes to other basic natural sciences fields, such as applied physics and biology; health studies and agriculture will each take five per cent.
The 30 per cent for social science is split in to two: 20 per cent for business and economics students and 10 per cent for social studies.
The whole point behind the 70/30 divide is to produce professionals in industry and technology fields that will have both the quantity and quality to realise a transformation of the emerging economy. This is an approach the Government says has proved successful in the best performing European and Asian economies.
By Kirubel Tadesse
Capital Ethiopia
The French built it for the Emperor Menelik in the early 1900s, and French influences are everywhere, from the glazed canopies of the Addis Ababa railway station to the startling sight of the Ethiopian station staff in Dire Dawa talking to each other in French as they dispatch a night goods train down the line to Djibouti.
Like so many rail systems, the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway was neglected for years in favour of road transport, but the loss of its main ports when Eritrea gained independence left Ethiopia totally dependent on Djibouti for an outlet to the sea.
Man on empty platform
This passenger may face a long wait for the next train
The country needed the railway more than ever, but the line was in no fit state for intensive use.
The system is narrow, one metre gauge, with steep gradients on the long haul up from sea level to the Ethiopian highlands.
Some stretches of track are more than a century old; crumbling embankments and decaying bridges limit the weight and speed of the trains.
Recently it has been averaging one derailment a week, and attracting so little traffic that for a time staff frequently went unpaid.
But now, with European Union support, a major restoration project is under way.
Almost a third of the track is being re-laid, using heavier weight rails - 40kg per metre instead of the 20kg rails still in use on some stretches of the line.
The section from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa has been closed while the work is going on.
end of the railway line
The railway to nowhere?
A spectacular stretch of line, near the town of Metahara, where the track runs on a narrow causeway across a volcanic lake, has already been completed.
Workers are strengthening bridges, consolidating embankments, and casting 25,000 concrete sleepers to replace the lightweight metal sleepers which were there before.
Meanwhile, a little desultory traffic still runs on the lower stretch of the line from Dire Dawa to Djibouti - a trainload of fruit and vegetables once a week for sale in Djibouti, coffee for export, trainloads of live camels destined for the meat markets of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
Coming the other way are all the construction materials needed for the project itself.
When the work is finished, in perhaps 18 months time, the system will still be narrow gauge, but much safer and more robust, able to take heavier trains at faster speeds.
The railway's general manager, To'om Terie, who now sits in his comfortable office in Addis Ababa above a silent, deserted station, says he expects a volume of something like 10 trains a day and a comfortable operating profit.
map
Mr To'om, who has worked for the railway for more than 30 years, is happy about the prospects for his own railway, but excited too that national policy now officially embraces rail transport.
The government is starting to plan a completely new rail system, with a further 5,000 km (3,100 miles) of lines.
It is early days yet, and Ethiopia is still looking for partners to build such a network.
But the man in charge of the project, Getachew Betru, confirmed that this would be a standard gauge railway, electrified to take advantage of the abundant, cheap electricity expected to be produced by ambitious new hydro-electric schemes soon to come into operation.
It would be primarily designed to carry freight, and although the proposed routes are still confidential, it might - for instance - serve the coffee-producing areas of western Ethiopia, the light industries of the north, the commercial food producing areas south of Addis Ababa, and the fertile, but as yet undeveloped farmlands near the Sudan border.
Sign in Amharic and French
The French influence is still strong
Mr Getachew talks with enthusiasm about rail transport as the engine of development, and of his conviction that railways are inherently more "pro-poor" than any other transport system - of much more use to Ethiopia's rural dwellers than an expensive network of tarmac road, driven on mostly by tourists and aid workers.
At the moment the new network is still a dream, but given Ethiopia's dramatically-rugged terrain, if it does get built, then it will surely be one of the outstanding railway engineering feats of the 21st Century.
By Elizabeth Blunt
BBC News, Ethiopia
The Federal Supreme Court this morning, Wednesday, February 18, 2009, reduced the sentence on the 31-year old sensational singer, songwriter and stage performer Tewdros Kassahun, by four years.
Popularly known as Teddy Afro, the Ethiopian pop-star was, on December 5, 2008, sentenced to six years imprisonment and fined 18, 000Br after the he was found guilty on two counts; one being homicide including driving without license and the second, being running away from the scene of the crime after having committed a crime.
Tewodros's remaining two-year prison sentence is inclusive of the time he has already served so far, which is nearly 10 months.
The Supreme Court has also reduced the 18,000Br fine the Eighth Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court passed in its December 5, 2008 ruling, to 11,000 Br.
In December, 2008, immediately after the Federal High Court decided that the singer be imprisoned for six years and fined 18,000Br, Tedy's lawyers, Million Assefa and Ameha Bedlu, appealed to the Supreme Court.
The over 150 people in the large court room, up at Sidist-Kilo, who had gathered for the hearing, were eagerly awaiting the court's decision with bated breath. The number of people was more than the courtroom normally accommodates. Most in the courtroom could not find seats while about 100 others were waiting outside, in the Supreme Court compound.
Tewodros requested leave to explain his case, interrupting Judge Dagne Melaku, while he was explaining the case to those in attendance. He was turned down both by his lawyers and the judge.
The lawyers apologized for his intrusion, which the judge described as an attempt to disrupt court proceedings, once again. Dressed in a blue-black suit and looking rather overconfident, Tewodros showed his disenchantment with Judge Dagne's statements.
There were high spirited emotions, fear and depression in the courtroom when Teddy and his two lawyers stood up while Judge Dagne read the judgment aloud. But, soon after the judge had read the paragraph that the High Court's sentence is reduced by four years and 7,000Br, the mood in the court room changed completely as the crowd punctuated the tense and quiet situation with loud applause.
Out of the court room, the pop-star's aficionados expressed mixed reactions.
Esete Demissie, 24, is one of the fans who are delighted with the Supreme Court's decision, though she still thinks Teddy is innocent.
"I am really glad that the court decided to reduce Tedy's time in prison; but I am still not convinced he is guilty," she told Fortune. "I was not expecting this at all."
Another young man in his late twenties, Epaw Abel, owner of Epaw Promotion, who, along his friends, is eagerly awaiting the end of Tedy's time in prison to welcome him back to his previous life. He is happy the time is going to be sooner than he first expected.
"I did not expect any of the reductions, either in the number of years or the fine," he said.
Teddy was first arrested by the Addis Abeba Police Commission investigators on November 3, 2006. The singer was accused of killing 18-year-old Degu Yibelete, a homeless man who came from Gojjam to live with his uncle before becoming a street dweller. The pop-star was released on 50,000Br bail on November 4, 2006 after he had been in custody for a day.
The star was denied bail on April 28, 2008 and the court ruled to hear four witnesses - all police constables - brought by the prosecutor against him on May 21, 2008.
According to the Ethiopian penal code, a driver would be charged with homicide if he knocks down a person, leading to death, and drives 15 metres away from the scene of the accident.
The penalty ranges from five to fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine up to a maximum of 15,000 Br.
One of Tedy's lawyers Ameha Bedlu believes the verdict by the Supreme Court is fair while still having qualms about the singer's culpability.
"Personally, I have reservations on the assumption that Tewodros is guilty," Ameha Bedlu, one of the singer's two lawyers, told Fortune. "However, I believe the sentence is fair."
Asked whether they are to appeal again, Ameha declined to comment on this and other matters, saying the lawyers have not consulted their client.
Hilina Alemu
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